Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
Samll camoed spice jar, tethered. Find it, log it and rehide it. Easy smiley. Respect Mother Nature and your surroundings.
BYOP, As always
Enjoy, Turtletoes/Biggie
Myotis grisescens (Gray Bat) once flourished in caves all over the southeastern United States, but due to human disturbance, Gray Bat populations declined severely during the early and mid portion of the 20th century. At one cave alone, the Georgetown Cave in Northwestern Alabama, populations declined from 150,000 Gray Bats to 10,000 by 1969. In 1976, M. grisescens was placed on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s endangered species list and put under the protection of the Endangered Species Act. Gray Bat populations were estimated at approximately 2 million bats around the time they were placed on the Endangered Species list. By the early 1980s populations of Gray Bats dropped to 1.6 million. With conservation efforts in place, in 2002, Gray Bat populations were estimated to have reached 2.3 million bats.
M. grisescens are the largest members of their genus in the eastern United States. Of all U.S. mammals, Gray Bats are, perhaps, the most cave-dependent.
Gray Bats have uni-colored dark gray fur on their backs that may bleach to a russet or chestnut brown after the molting season (July or August). Unlike in other species of Myotis, where the wing membrane connects to the toe, in M. grisescens, the wing membrane connects to the ankle. Gray Bats typically weigh between 7 and 16 grams. Gray Bats can live up to 17 years, but only about 50% of Gray Bats survive to maturity. Sexual maturity occurs at about age 2. Although an adult Gray Bats forearm measures only about 40–46 mm, Gray Bats with forearm lengths of 39.5 mm (approx. 1.55 in) or less cannot fly. The flight speed of the Gray Bat, M. grisescens, has been calculated at 20.3 km/h (12.61 mph) during migration. While foraging, Gray Bats have been clocked at a flying rate of anywhere between 17 km/h and 39 km/h.
Gray Bats live in limestone karst areas in Alabama, northern Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, northwestern Florida, western Georgia, southern Kansas, southern Indiana, southern and southwestern Illinois, northeastern Oklahoma, northeastern Mississippi, western Virginia, and possibly western North Carolina. Gray Bats are cave obligate (or cave dependent) bats, meaning that with very few exceptions (in which cave-like conditions are created in man-made structures) Gray Bats only live in caves, not in abandoned barns or other structures as other species of bats are known to do. Less than 5 percent of all available caves are inhabited by Gray Bats. Thus, any disturbance to these cave habitats can be extremely detrimental to Gray Bat populations.
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)